This is an editorial piece used in a college assignment.
Following an offseason that saw the Oilers emerge as the top Stanley Cup contenders, Edmonton has struggled to a point where they may not even make the playoffs – this is unacceptable.
Oil Country saw their team begin the season with back-to-back games against the Vancouver Canucks, which should have been an easy four points. However, the Oilers did not just lose, they collapsed harder than Goliath. The Canucks won 8-1 in the opener, then 4-3 in the following game.
This was concerning for fans across the country because the top-rated NHL team had just lost to an expected bottom-feeder. However, the woes were over. Edmonton bounced back to hunt down the Nashville Predators by a whopping 6-1.
This game seemed to tell everyone the Oilers were back and the first two games were a simple fluke.
Unfortunately, Edmonton would fail again and again and again. Now things were becoming seriously problematic for the orange and blue.
Once the team hit a record of 3-9-1 on the year, fans were demanding change. At this point, Nov. 11, the Oilers were looking genuinely pathetic. This was a team expected to win the Stanley Cup, a team with the generational greats of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Even with this star talent, the team was losing and heads were about to roll.
Indeed, they did. Head coach Jay Woodcroft was dismissed the following day and Kris Knoblauch was named as his replacement.
Personally, I felt as though Woodcroft was not the problem. The problem lies with general manager Ken Holland. The team has failed to bring in sufficient defence or goaltending for decades. Years of first overall picks and free agent signings have resulted in a league-leading offense. When players like Darnell Nurse are paid nearly $10 million per year to waste a spot on the bench, the failure must be owned by the person in charge – the general manager.
The Oilers hit such an abysmal low they even relegated former starting goalie, Jack Campbell, to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. This made Campbell, known to Oiler fans as “Soup”, one of the highest paid AHL players. This is not a title a player strives for.
Meanwhile, the weight of the team would now fall on Edmonton-native and former Lethbridge Hurricanes goaltender, Stewart Skinner. This was not comforting for fans because the goalie affectionately known as “Stew” had, up to that point, posted even worse numbers than Campbell.
However, Edmonton would begin to experience the highs of a rollercoaster as the Knoblauch era began. Following a commanding 6-1 dismantling of the Carolina Hurricanes last night, Edmonton advanced their record to 10-12-1.
In fact, the team has won five straight games and star players like McDavid and Draisaitl are finally producing the points expected of them.
While I will remain hard on the Oilers for the disgusting start to the season they had, some fans are beginning to feel optimistic about the turnout currently underway.
My words of caution are simple; Edmonton is still 18 points out of first place in the division, an unacceptable position.
There is a lot of work to be done in Edmonton, even if the tides appear to be turning in their favour.
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